Beehive exit device



. oct. 25, 194,9` J1 E, HARWOOD A 2,485,879

Filed Nov. 25, 1947 mes Ham/00a BY TTORNEY- Patented Oct. 25, 1949BEEHIV E EXIT DEVICE James E. Harwood, Beulah, Mich., assignor to Leo C.Antles, Wenatchee, Wash.

Application November 25, 1947, Serial No. 787,942

7 Claims. (Cl. 6-4) This invention relates to beehive exit means of atype used to increase the pollination of plant blossoms by honey beesthe same being herein referred to as a beehive insert but it beingunderstood that this device may be constructed as an integral part of abeehive.

This invention is in the nature of an improvement in beehive attachmentsor devices of the type disclosed in Patent No. 2,435,951, issued Feb.17, 1948, to Leo C. Antles.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device for controllingthe activities of honey bees in such a manner that the bees are causedto pick up fertile pollen at a beehive and carry this fertile pollen toblossoms needing the pollen service.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this natureadapted to control the exit of bees relative to a beehive and furtheradapted to contain live or fertile pollen which the bees are caused tocome in contact with and pick up and carry away each time they visit thebeehive.

Another object is to provide beehive exit means comprising a pollencompartment positioned in the path followed by bees in leaving a beehivesaid exit means terminating in an upwardly inclined passageway throughwhich the bees must travel after they leave the pollen compartment, atleast a portion of the floor of said passageway being of lightconductive and preferably transparent material.

Other objects of this invention are to provide a beehive exit means orinsert of this nature that is simple in construction not expensive tomanufacture and that is highly eicient in controlling the activities ofthe bees as respects the way they enter and leave the beehive.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view with parts broken away ofa beehive exit device or insert constructed in accordance with thisinvention showing the same in connection with a beehive, a fragment onlyof the beehive being shown.

Fig. 2 is a view in cross section through the exit device and a fragmentof the beehive taken substantially on broken line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and on.a larger scale than Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view of a movable or adjustable stopmember used in the pollen compartment of this beehive exit device,

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the severalviews.

The frame of this beehive exit device or insert comprises a floor 5, twoend walls 6 and l, two cross bars 8 and 9 and an inclined exit board I0over which the bees pass in leaving the hive. The floor 5 is adapted torest on the alighting platform II of a beehive I2. A cleat I3 is securedto the end wall 6 and extends into the usual beehive inlet and exitopening or door I4. This opening I4 is provided in the front wall of thebeehive I2 flush with the alighting platform II. Another cleat, similarto the cleat I3 but not shown herein is secured to the other end wall 1and these two cleats help to anchor the insert to the beehive.

The exit device or insert is of substantially less width than thebeehive so that it only obstructs the usual inlet and exit opening I4 ofthe beehive for a portion of the length of said opening I4. The exitdevice can be positioned intermediate the length of the opening I4 asshown in Fig. 1 or it can be positioned at one side of the hive, that isat one end of the opening I4. When this exit device is positioned sothat it obstructs any part of the opening I4 and leaves any other partor parts of said opening I4 unobstructed it has been found that the beeswill enter the beehive through the unobstructed part of the opening I4and will leave the hive by way of this exit device. This device thustakes advantage of the fact that the bees will enter and leave thebeehive as above explained.

The inclined exit board I0 is positioned adjacent the outermost side ofthis beehive insert and extends crosswise between the end walls 6 and 1.Preferably this exit board Ill is inclined at an angle of about sixtydegrees relative to the floor 5 and the bees walk or crawl upwardlyacross this board IIJ in leaving the hive. The bottom edge of the eXitboard I0 is spaced a short distance above the floor 5, and inclinedplate I5 of smooth light conductive and preferably transparent material,such as glass, closes this space between the bottom edge of the boardIIJ and the floor 5. The plate I5 is flush with the inner surface of theinclined exit board Il) and is positioned at the same angle so that theboard I0 and plate I 5 present a continuous fiat, inclined ramp or exitsurface for the bees to move over as they leave the beehive. An angleshaped guard member comprising two plate like portions I5 and I1connected by a curved vertex portion I8 is' provided in this beehiveinsert and extends from end to end thereof. Preferably this angle shapedguard member is formed of light conductive material, such as a lightconductive plastic material in which screen wire is embedded, this beingan easily obtainable, inexpensive and durable material much used in thepoultry industry.

The plate member I6 is positioned substantially parallel to theinnermost surface of the exit board Iil and preferably spaced aboutthree eighths of an inch therefrom. Thus a passageway about threeeighths of an inch wide and extending from end to end of the beehiveinsert is provided for the bees to move outwardly through. The platelike member I'I extends from the vertex portion I8 inwardly andupwardly, preferably at an angle of about thirty degrees, to the innerside of the insert, this being the side which is positioned against thebeehive. The uppermost edge portion of the plate like member I6 issecured to the cross bar 8 and the corresponding edge portion of theplate like member I1 is secured to the cross bar 9.

Suitable end cleats I9 are provided where needed on the end members 6and 1 to cooperate in helping to support the exit board I0. light con-1..

inwardly from the glass plate I5 constitutes a :t

pollen receptacle 20 in which fertile pollen 25 can be placed in thepath of bees leaving the beehive. Preferably an adjustable stop member2I of gable shaped cross section, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, is disposedon the door 5 to serve as a pollen retaining member in spaced relationfrom the light conductive plate I5. A small nail 22 can be used to serveas a handle-by which the stop member 2I can be handled and adjusted.Preferably the inner edge portion of the floor 5 is beveled, as at 23,to provide a better approach for bees as they leave the beehive.

The use of a cover member 24 on the top of this beehive insert isoptional. Such a cover member is shown in the drawings but can beomitted if desired. If a cover member is used it can be made of opaquematerial such as sheet metal or can be made of material that willtransmit any desired amount of light. Also the cover member can beinclined, if desired. to shed water.

The light conductive plate I5 has been found to be of great advantage ininducing the bees to leave the hive by way of this insert. This lightconductive plate I5 and the exit board I0 form the inclined front wallof the pollen compartf' ment and help to prevent waste of pollen. whichis costly because of its perishable nature and because of the laborinvolved in gathering it. Pollen adheres to the bees when they passthrough the pollen compartment. Some of this pollen which adhereslooselv. will be dropped as the bees move up along the light conductiveplate I5 and exit board Il'l and will tend to find its way back into thepollen compartment 20 or will be picked up by other bees. Some of thepollen which adheres rmlv to the bees will be carried to blossoms inwhich the bees work,L The inclined exit board I and light conductiveplate I5 further shield the pollen from drafts of air which might tendto scatter and waste it,

The light conductive plate I admits a strip of light across the floorin. front of the bees that are movingr outwardly. This plate I5 is ofsmooth material such as glass. and this smoothness and the strip oflight admitted by said plate I5 both seem to hasten the movement of thebees to and along inclined ramp formed by this plate I5 and the exitboard III.

The stop member 2| can be moved to adjust the oor area of the pollencompartment, This stop member also cooperates to prevent scattering andwaste of the pollen.

The operation of this beehive insert may be summarized as follows:

Live pollen is placed in the pollen compartm'ent 20 and the beehive exitdevice is positioned with its inner side against the front wall of thebeehive so as to leave parts of the opening I4 unobstructed. The beeswill enter the hive through the unobstructed portions of the opening I4and it has been found that substantially all of the bees will come outof the hive by way of this device.

In coming out of the hive the bees crawl or walk up the incline 23, overthe stop 2I through the pollen 25 in the pollen compartment 20 and upalong the ramp formed by the light conductive plate I5 and exit boardI0.

The light conductive plate I5 has been found to be important as the beeswill advance to this plate and then upwardly along this plate and theboard I0 much more freely than they will if the board I0 is extendedentirely to the floor 5 or if an opaque plate is used instead of thelight conductive plate I5.

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings clearly `disclose apreferred embodiment of my invention but it'will be understood that thisdisclosure is merely illustrative and that changes can be made withinthe scope and spirit of the following claims.

I claim:

l. Beehive exit means comprising a floor and two upright spaced apartwalls defining an exit way from a beehive; a pollen compartment providedon said door in the path of bees leaving the beehive by way of the exitmeans, and an inclined exit ramp positioned outwardly from said pollencompartment and extending from the floor upwardly and outwardly, aportion of said exit ramp adjacent the floor being of light conductivematerial and the upper portion of said exit ramp being of opaquematerial.

2. Beehive exit means comprising a floor and two spaced apart wallscooperating to define an exit way from a beehive; a pollen compartmentprovided on said oor in the path of bees leaving the beehive by way ofthe exit means; and an inclined exit ramp positioned outwardly from saidpollen compartment and extending from said iloor upwardly and outwardly,a portion of said exit ramp adjacent said floor being of transparentglass.

3. Beehive exit means comprising a floor and two upright spaced apartwalls defining an exit way from a beehive; a pollen compartment providedon said floor in the path of bees leaving the beehive by way of the eXitmeans; an inclined exit ramp positioned outwardly from said pollencompartment and extending from the floor upwardlj7 and outwardly, aportion of said exit ramp adjacent the floor being of light conductivematerial and the upper portion thereof being of opaque material; and aninclined guard member supported in spaced relation from said exit rampand cooperating therewith to provide a bee exit passageway between theguard member and the ramp.

4. Beehive exit means comprising a floor and two upright spaced apartwalls defining an exit way from a beehive; a pollen compartment providedon said floor in the path of bees leaving the beehive by way of the exitmeans; an adjustable stop member between the pollen compartment and thebeehive and an inclined exit ramp positioned outwardly from said pollencompartment and extending from the oor upwardly and outwardly, a portionof said exit ramp adjacent the oor being of light conductive material.

5. Beehive exit means comprising a floor and two upright spaced apartwalls defining an exit way from a beehive; a pollen compartment providedon said floor in the path of bees leaving the beehive by way of the exitmeans; an inclined exit ramp positioned outwardly from said pollencompartment and extending from the floor upwardly and outwardly, aportion of said exit ramp adjacent the oor being of light conductivematerial; an inclined guard member supported above the pollencompartment; and another inclined guard member positioned substantiallyparallel to said exit ramp and spaced inwardly from said exit ramp andcooperating with said exit ramp to provide a bee exit passageway betweenthe last mentioned guard member and the exit ramp.

6. Means for increasing the pollination activities of bees using abeehive located in the vicinity of blossoms to be pollinated, comprisingbeehive exit means adapted to obstruct a portion of the usual doorway tothe beehive, another portion of said usual doorway being left open andunobstructed to provide a bee entrance, said beehive exit meanscomprising a oor and two spaced apart end walls; a pollen compartmentprovided on said floor in the path of bees leaving the beehive by Way ofthe exit means; and an inclined exit ramp positioned outwardly from saidpollen compartment and extending from the floor upwardly and outwardly,a portion of said exit ramp adjacent the iloor being of light conductivematerial.

'7. Beehive exit means comprising a floor and two spaced apart Wallscooperating to dei-lne an exit way from a beehive; a pollen compartmentprovided on said iloor in the path of bees leaving the beehive by way ofthe exit means; an adjustable stop member between the pollen compartmentand the beehive; an inclined exit ramp positioned outwardly from saidpollen compartment and extending from the floor upwardly and outwardly,a portion of said exit ramp adjacent the oor being of light conductivematerial; an inclned guide member supported above the pollencompartment; and another inclined guard member connected with said rstmentioned guard member and positioned substantially parallel to and inspaced relation from said exit ramp.

JAMES HARWOOD.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Antles Feb. 17, 1948Number

